My new Lathe - UPD8 + Bowlsaving!

[Aled Dafis]

It's been a long time coming, but I've finally been able to give my new lathe a bit of a test, I turned a few milking stool tops a couple of weeks ago, but this weekend has shown me what this machine is really capable of.

I was given a butt of Spalted beech some months ago, and I've just finished roughing out 4 pretty big bowls. Three of them are 18" dia, and the smallest is about 15". Needless to say, the Woodfast took them all in it's stride.

The spalting is pretty impressive, but unfortunately it's gone a little too far, and there are some really soft pockets that will be a complete bugger to turn when they're dry. I suppose that my only option will be to flood the soft areas with sanding sealer, and turn with really sharp tools. Would a "detail gouge" result in a sharper edge, and therefore a better finish?

I've also just roughed another four Ash blanks on the chainsaw for turning this week - amongst the mountain of shavings in this pic The supports for the lathe are 12" high. :shock:

Something tells me that I need to invest in a bowlsaver. :roll:

Oh look, I've just noticed a thread on the Woodcut Bowlsaver mmmm... :roll: :roll:

Cheers

Aled

 

[TheTiddles]

Is that huge machine on some kind of stilts? It looks like it's floating!

Aidan

 

[Aled Dafis]

Yup, it's bolted to two pieces of 12" I-beam.

I think that the machine was either designed for dwarfs, or for wheelchair turning. I'm about 6'4", so it needed to be raised quite a bit!!

Cheers

Aled

 

[Dalboy]

Me thinks a broom or dust extraction might be next on the list :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Paul.J]

Looks to have been well worth the wait Aled
Lathe looks great,and the Spalted Beech looks gorgeous.
I'm not sure but i think i read somewhere that it is ok to finish turn splated wood that as gone that far as all the tension has gone out the wood by then. :?: :?
Don't the legs on the lathe adjust the height at all :?:
The bowl saver is ideal for when you have large lumps of nice wood such as that Beech.Three nice bowls you could have had out the one
Be careful also with the dust from Spalted timbers.

 

[cornucopia]

I'm not sure but i think i read somewhere that it is ok to finish turn splated wood that as gone that far as all the tension has gone out the wood by then. :?: :?

No Paul you still have to rough turm them- there is less tension is spalted beech but they will still split if left too thick and brought inside

great to finaly see some pictures Aled

 

[Paul.J]

Thanks for clearing that up George

 

[Blister]

Looking good Aled

Do you like how quiet and smooth it is :lol:

Pleased that you like it and thanks for the thanks :wink: :wink:

 

[Aled Dafis]

I'm not sure but i think i read somewhere that it is ok to finish turn splated wood that as gone that far as all the tension has gone out the wood by then. :?: :?

No Paul you still have to rough turm them- there is less tension is spalted beech but they will still split if left too thick and brought inside

great to finaly see some pictures Aled

I turned them to around 10% of the diameter, I hope that's OK. What's the best way of drying the bowls now, I currently have them in the workshop, which is dry, but not as dry/warm as the house.

Any ideas as to minimising tearout of the softer bits, or is it just a case of going carefully with a sharp gouge and a shearing cut.

Blister - yes it's as smooth as a good pint of guinness, and just about as quiet. In short it's bloody lovely!!

Cheers

Aled

 

[cornucopia]

At this time of year Aled i normally seal the end grain and leave them upside down on my garage floor- then in the autum take them indoors for a month then there ready to finish. if i was roughing out when its warmer i would still seal them but take them outside and put them at the bottom of a dry/semi enclosed corner in my wood pile for the summer.

 

[wizer]

Good work Aled. I was sorely tempted when Allen got that. I knew it would be every bit as good as my old Woodfast with the addition of a swivelling head and compact to boot. The more I think about it....

Oh well. I do have a BIG Red Machine

 

[SVB]

Me thinks a broom or dust extraction might be next on the list :lol: :lol: :lol:

I think a shovel should be first on the list!

 

[Aled Dafis]

Me thinks a broom or dust extraction might be next on the list :lol: :lol: :lol:

I think a shovel should be first on the list!

In fact, I'm going to pick one up on the way home from work tomorrow, I only have a "pointed" digging shovel, and could do with a square one for shifting shavings etc.

Cheers

Aled

 

[Aled Dafis]

At this time of year Aled i normally seal the end grain and leave them upside down on my garage floor- then in the autum take them indoors for a month then there ready to finish. if i was roughing out when its warmer i would still seal them but take them outside and put them at the bottom of a dry/semi enclosed corner in my wood pile for the summer.

Should I buy some proper end seal, or can I just heat up a few candles, and then paint the wax on. I have loads of candles from Ikea that I bought years ago to seal some logs.

Wizer - I missed the lathe when Blister first offered it, so I jumped at the offer when I eventually saw it. It was definately worth the 10 hour round trip to pick it up. As you may have guessed, I'm well chuffed.

Cheers

Aled

 

[BMac]

Aled,

If you are going to use candles you need to heat the wax to the point where the wood sizzles when immersed. This gives a penetrating coat of thin wax. If the wax isn't hot enough you will get a thick covering that will flake off when set. That's the mistake I made. I melt wax in a slow cooker I borrowed from the kitchen but, be warned, once you melt wax in it you will never use it for anything else.

Brendan

 

[philb88]

Gutted I didnt see this when it was up for sale!

Glad your making good use of it though!! Keep up the shaving making!

 

[cornucopia]

At this time of year Aled i normally seal the end grain and leave them upside down on my garage floor- then in the autum take them indoors for a month then there ready to finish. if i was roughing out when its warmer i would still seal them but take them outside and put them at the bottom of a dry/semi enclosed corner in my wood pile for the summer.

Should I buy some proper end seal, or can I just heat up a few candles, and then paint the wax on. I have loads of candles from Ikea that I bought years ago to seal some logs.

dont waste your time/money/effort- it just needs to slighly slow down the moisture loss from the end grain only i'm currently using some old acrylic primer undercoat because its what i've got left over- but in genral any primer or old undercoats work well-emulsion is a last resort for me.

 

[wizer]

I've used PVA in the past. I had a load of it which was never going to be used now I'm a Titebond snob. Seems to work. I pulled out a roughed out blank which has been sitting under a tarp since about this time last year and it appears to have lost some weight but not warped very much at all.

As George says, use what you've got, or what's cheap.

 

[Aled Dafis]

Just been doing some more roughing out and bowlsaving on the Woodfast! The lathe just turned the 12" out of balance lumps without a care in the world.

This was my first outing with the Bowlsaver, and all went smoothly. The "parent" bowls were only about 10" Dia, but I got 3 7" bowls as a little bonus. I can see me using the Bowlsaver a lot in future, especially for larger blanks where I can get 2 extra bowls for "free". I'll post a WIP thread when I next use it, I got a little excited today and forgot to take any pics.

These bowls were sealed on the end grain with some watered down PVA, on hindsight I don't think I needed to water it down as it's El Cheapo PVA and pretty damn watery to begin with. I also weighed these bowls and wrote the weight on them, so I'll be able to check their drying progress in future.

Cheers

Aled

 

[Blister]

:lol:

Wooo look shavings 8)